UBC Reports | Vol. 47 | No. 05 | Mar. 8, 2001

Conference to focus on inquiry-based learning

Approach promotes critical thinking and problem solving

Maximizing the educational experiences of students is the focus of the first UBC Learning Conference to be held May 14-15 in the Great Hall of the First Nations House of Learning and Ponderosa Centre.

Called Bringing the Excitement of Discovery to Student Learning, the conference will explore inquiry-based learning strategies in which students' learning processes mirror research processes. Effective use of these strategies encourages such skills as critical thinking and problem solving in learners.

The conference is sponsored by the Centre for Teaching and Academic Growth (TAG) and the President's Office.

"The purpose of the conference is to discover what's happening on campus with regards to inquiry-based learning and find out what's working and how it can be improved," says conference co-ordinator Ingrid Price.

Participants will have opportunities to learn from each other via a series of concurrent sessions.

Gary Poole, director of TAG, hopes both proponents and critics of inquiry-based learning will attend the conference, which will also be open to students.

The conference will also include keynote addresses from speakers chosen for their prominence in the area of inquiry-based learning.

Bruce Alberts, president of the National Academy of Sciences and a member of the Boyer Commission on undergraduate education, is among the scheduled speakers.

Brief proposals for sessions are welcome from faculty, staff and students. Proposals should be sent to Ingrid Price, conference coordinator by fax to 604-822-9826 or e-mail to ingrid.price@ubc.ca by March 9.

For more information on the conference and proposal guidelines visit www.cstudies.ubc.ca/facdev/UBClearns.